As we begin a new year, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who plays a role in helping TDCJ fulfill its mission. Despite considerable challenges, which included a direct strike by a historic hurricane, 2017 was a successful year for the agency, and that success would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the men and women who work for the agency and the volunteers who generously donate their time and effort to help.

Recruiting qualified applicants and retaining experienced staff for all positions is vital to the success of the agency; every employee helps the TDCJ fulfill our vital mission of providing public safety, promoting positive change in offender behavior, reintegrating offenders into society and assisting victims of crime. However, in this update I want to focus specifically on the recruitment and retention of correctional officers, which is one of our top priorities.

When a contagious illness breaks out in a workplace, it can spread quickly and sicken nearly everyone. In prison and jail environments, where physical movement is restricted, the risks posed by infectious disease are even greater. In order to help protect the health of staff, offenders and visitors to our facilities, TDCJ has established procedures and training programs to prevent the outbreak and spread of infectious disease.

Melvin Neely has been selected as director of TDCJ’s Information Technology Division. Neely has 18 years of experience in the field of information technology and has built strong, positive relationships with stakeholders while overseeing several innovative ITD projects and inter-agency initiatives.

Melissa Beardsley has been selected as TDCJ's Incident Manager. As Incident Manager, she oversees the agency's Office of Incident Management, the central oversight authority for the department’s emergency management preparedness and response.

Kirstie Legerski has been selected as deputy director of Operations Monitoring, Western Region, for the Private Facility Contract Monitoring/Oversight Division. PFCMOD helps ensure these facilities are kept up to agency standards through quality management, efficient monitoring and effective communication between TDCJ and its contracted representatives.

The Department of Public Safety’s Fingerprint-based Applicant Clearinghouse of Texas has started implementing the FBI Rap Back Service. TDCJ’s participation in this program requires current TDCJ and TDCJ-contracted employees to sign a consent and authorization form, and for employees hired prior to June 1, 2015 to be re-fingerprinted.

Tax time is approaching and, along with the W-2 wage and salary information form used to report income and withholdings, taxpayers will again use 1095 forms to report that they and their tax dependents had medical insurance coverage during the previous year or to claim the premium tax credit.

As of January 1, HealthSelect no longer pays the amount billed by out-of-network freestanding emergency rooms, even if the care is due to a true emergency. If you are a HealthSelect member and get services from an out-of-network freestanding ER, you will pay more of the cost than in the past.

As part of their job duties, some TDCJ employees have access to confidential information about agency staff or offenders, and keeping this information secure and out of the wrong hands is an important part of the agency’s mission. Here are some of the ways the agency protects confidential data, and information about actions you can take to protect your Personally Identifiable Information.

TDCJ employees are working in support of the communities every day, and continued this longstanding tradition during the 2017 holiday season. Here are a few of the many activities in which we participated.